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Unlimited Dining Package


m00cat

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Hi everyone, 

So I've been paying attention to RCL blog for quite some time, ever since me and my wife decided to make our honeymoon an RCL cruise in June 2020. I discovered the podcast this week and am making my way through the archives. Likewise I heard about the message boards because Matt mentioned them on the podcast. 

So we've bought an unlimited dining package, which as I understand, we make those reservations once aboard right?

The thing I don't get is the cruise planner made me choose a time for this package despite being good the entire cruise right?
Also I went back to the cruise planner, in the dining section there was a banner message that said 

"YOU CAN STILL MAKE DINING RESERVATIONS FOR NIGHT 2, NIGHT 3, NIGHT 4, NIGHT 5, NIGHT 6, NIGHT 7, BUT AVAILABILITY IS LIMITED. FIND THE PERFECT RESTAURANT HERE. PLAN ALL CRUISE DINING!"

Can I make reservations using my unlimited dining package before I cruise through the cruise planner?

Thanks, 
Danny

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23 minutes ago, m00cat said:

Can I make reservations using my unlimited dining package before I cruise through the cruise planner?

Welcome to the blog, Danny and congratulations on your upcoming wedding !

No, you cannot make your dining reservations prior to boarding UNLESS you are in a Grand Suite or higher, in which case a Suites Concierge will reach out to your prior (around 5 days beforehand) to the sail date....and they would help you make advanced reservations.  

But not to worry !  You will be able to make reservations as soon as you board the ship and will have no trouble getting the restaurants and times you prefer.  Just make sure to take care of that as SOON as you board.

When you purchased the UDP the “system” automatically makes a reservation for you, at the time that you chose.  Once you get onboard you can change the time and/or location of that reservation if you so choose.

We always get the a UDP and nearly always get the restaurants and times that we want. The system works very well.

 

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WAAYTOOO's answer is great.  I'll also add this...the Cruise Planner isn't smart enough to realize you've booked the UDP so the parts advertising dining or showing you how to book dining reservations are still there.  It's just what everyone sees.  You can safely ignore it.  There's no reason to do anything else once you've booked the UDP.

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We just purchased the package for next week on Mariner. It gave us 8:30 for the first night with no other choices, even though I can see that all times are available at each restaurant. Sounds like I should have no problem getting that changed once on board.

Another question, should I make any lunch reservations at that same time? And are Johnny Rockets and Bamboo Room included in the $35 credit?

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18 minutes ago, Biff215 said:

We just purchased the package for next week on Mariner. It gave us 8:30 for the first night with no other choices, even though I can see that all times are available at each restaurant. Sounds like I should have no problem getting that changed once on board.

Another question, should I make any lunch reservations at that same time? And are Johnny Rockets and Bamboo Room included in the $35 credit?

You can request whatever times and venues you would like upon boarding.  Lunch is not reserved, simple walk up basis.  

JR and Bamboo seems to vary.  The ship can change policy week to week so for that you'll have to try and see how it goes.

 

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24 minutes ago, twangster said:

You can request whatever times and venues you would like upon boarding.  Lunch is not reserved, simple walk up basis.  

JR and Bamboo seems to vary.  The ship can change policy week to week so for that you'll have to try and see how it goes.

 

Thanks. So no reservations for lunch at Chops or Jamie’s? That’s good to know!

Crazy how policies differ between ships on something like this. I wish Royal would make it consistent so you didn’t need to find out the hard way. 

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5 minutes ago, Biff215 said:

Thanks. So no reservations for lunch at Chops or Jamie’s? That’s good to know!

Crazy how policies differ between ships on something like this. I wish Royal would make it consistent so you didn’t need to find out the hard way. 

Totally agree with Royal (lack of) policy.

Make a list of you desired times and venues for the week.  As soon as board deal with it. The longer you wait the more "good" times are gobbled up by other package holders.  You can always adapt during the cruise if you feel like more of restaurant X and less of restaurant Y but at least you have your bases covered by making all reservation on day one.  

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4 hours ago, Bill A said:

What do you recommend if the unlimited plan is sold out and I would like one for our party of four.  We do have three night specialty dining.

Keep checking your cruise planner every day to see if it is available again (because someone else canceled theirs).  Or try calling Royal.  Their website is known for glitches so it might actually be available if you talk to someone in person.

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5 minutes ago, saytheb said:

If the unlimited dining is sold out, does it typically get the sold out "treatment" like other items do in the cruise planner?

I ask because as of last week or so, the option is just... gone. No rhyme or reason, just gone!

I suppose it’s possible for the UDP to sell out but I haven’t seen that happen before.  I’m not sure how it would “look” in the Cruise Planner.

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